When we learn English verbs, we need to learn verb conjugation for different tenses. For example, the verb “do” can be used as “do - did - done”. However, in Chinese, verbs do not need to be changed, no matter what tense the sentence is.
Sounds great, right? You don’t have to spend time learning dreaded verb-changing rules! But how does the Chinese language express tense?
You only need to know some time adverbs and aspect particles to help you express past, present or future, completed or ongoing. It might be easier than you think, so, just start to learn with me.
Present Tense in Chinese
The first thing you should know is time adverbs. Some of the words you may have already learned in Tell Time in Chinese Lesson 2.
Commonly Used Time Adverbs for Simple Present Tense
Chinese Characters | Chinese Pinyin | Meanings |
|---|---|---|
经常/常常 | jīng cháng/cháng cháng | often, frequently |
总是 | zǒng shì | always |
有时 | yǒu shí | sometimes |
每天 | měi tiān | every day |
每（个）周/每（个）星期 | měi (gè) zhōu/ měi (gè ) xīng qī | every week |
每（个）月 | měi (gè) yuè | every month |
每年 | měi nián | every year |
There is one word you should pay attention to, which is “每(měi)”. It means “every” in Chinese. This word is often used in the present tense.
Example Sentences
Chinese Characters | 我每天8点起床。 |
Chinese Pinyin | wǒ měi tiān bā diǎn qǐ chuáng |
Meanings | I get up at 8:00 every day. |
Chinese Characters | 我的老师经常带我们去公园。 |
Chinese Pinyin | wǒ de lǎo shī jīng cháng dài wǒ men qù gōng yuán |
Meanings | My teacher often take us to the park. |
Aspect Particle for Something in Progress
在 (zài) ,正在 (zhèng zài) and 着(zhe) all indicate present continuous tense, which means something is currently still happening. Sometimes “正在” and “着” can be used at the same time.
Example Sentences
Chinese Characters | 我（正）在吃饭。 |
Chinese Pinyin | wǒ (zhèng) zài chī fàn |
Meanings | I am eating. |
Chinese Characters | 我们（正）在开会。 |
Chinese Pinyin | wǒ men (zhèng) zài kāi huì |
Meanings | We are having a meeting. |
Chinese Characters | 她穿着一件红色的衣服。 |
Chinese Pinyin | tā chuān zhe yī jiàn hóng sè de yī fú |
Meanings | She is in red. |
Chinese Characters | 爸爸正（在）打着电话呢。 |
Chinese Pinyin | bà ba zhèng (zài) dǎ zhe diàn huà ne |
Meanings | Father is talking on the phone. |
Chinese Time Adverbs for Something in Progress
If you want to express that the action is currently in progress or ongoing, use the following adverbs:
Chines Characters | Chinese Pinyin | Meanings |
|---|---|---|
现在 | xiàn zài | now |
此刻 | cǐ kè | at the moment |
目前 | mù qián | at present, currently |
Sentence Examples
Chinese Characters | 我现在在学习中文。 |
Chinese Pinyin | wǒ xiàn zài zài xué zhōng wén |
Meanings | I am learning Chinese now. |
Chinese Characters | 此刻你有什么想说的？ |
Chinese Pinyin | cǐ kè nǐ yǒu shén me xiǎng shuō de? |
Meanings | What do you want to say at the moment? |
Past Tense in Chinese
Commonly Used Time Adverbs for Past Tense
Unlike English, Chinese people like to place time adverbs at the beginning of a sentence, instead of the end, for most of the time.
Chines Characters | Chinese Pinyin | Meanings |
|---|---|---|
以前 | yǐ qián | before |
过去 | guò qù | in the past |
曾经 | céng jīng | once |
刚刚 | gang gāng | just now |
刚才 | gang cái | few moments ago |
……年前 | … nián qián | …… years ago |
去年 | qù nián | last year |
……（个）月前 | …(gè) yuè qián | …… months ago |
上（个）月 | shàng (gè) yuè | last month |
……（个）周前 | …(gè) zhōu qián | …… weeks ago |
上（个）周/星期 | shàng (gè) zhōu/ xīng qī | last week |
……天前 | tiān qián | …… days ago |
前天 | qián tiān | the day before yesterday |
昨天 | zuó tiān | yesterday |
昨晚 | zuó wǎn | last night |
Example Sentences
Chinese Characters | 我三年前开始学中文。 |
Chinese Pinyin | wǒ sān nián qián kāi shǐ xué zhōng wén |
Meanings | I started to learn Chinese 3 years ago. |
Chinese Characters | 我以前是名医生。 |
Chinese Pinyin | wǒ yǐ qián shì míng yī shēng |
Meanings | I was a doctor before. |
Chinese Characters | 昨晚我和男朋友去看了电影。 |
Chinese Pinyin | zuó wǎn wǒ hé nán péng yǒu qù kàn le diànyǐng |
Meanings | I went to see a movie with my boyfriend last night. |
Chinese Characters | 上个周我去出差了。 |
Chinese Pinyin | shàng gè zhōu wǒ qù chū chāi le |
Meanings | I went on a business trip last week |
Aspect Particle for Past Tense
We can add some aspect particle, such as 了 (le) and 过(guò), place it immediately after the verb, to indicate an action is completed or past.
了(le) is used to indicate the completion of an action. In a similar way, 过 (guò) is used to show that something has happened before. And we also can use “…过了 (guò le)” together, to indicate that the status of an action has been completed.
To say that an action has never happened before, negate the verb using 没 (méi) or 没有 (méi yǒu). You can also use the adverb 从来 (cóng lái) which means ‘in the past’ to express something that has never happened.
Besides, the aspect articles can be used both with or without the adverb of time.
Example Sentences
Chinese Characters | 我去过长城。 |
Chinese Pinyin | wǒ qù guò cháng chéng |
Meanings | I have been to the Great Wall. |
Chinese Characters | 我们以前见过了。 |
Chinese Pinyin | wǒ men yǐ qián jiàn guò le |
Meanings | We have met before. |
Chinese Characters | 我们分手了。 |
Chinese Pinyin | wǒmen fēn shǒu le |
Meanings | We broke up. |
Chinese Characters | 汤姆看了那本书。 |
Chinese Pinyin | Tāng mǔ kàn le nà běn shū |
Meanings | Tom has read that book. |
Chinese Characters | 今年暑假我没有回家。 |
Chinese Pinyin | jīn nián shǔ jià wǒ méi yǒu huí jiā |
Meanings | I didn’t went back home this summer holiday. |
Chinese Characters | 这是从来没有过的大新闻。 |
Chinese Pinyin | zhè shì cóng lái méi yǒu guò de dà xīn wén |
Meanings | This is a big news that has never happened before. |
Future Tense in Chinese
Commonly Used Time Adverbs for Future Tense
Some time adverbs in this chart can be paired with the adverbs in past tense part, for easy memorizing, you can match them together.
Chinese Characters | Chinese Pinyin | Meanings |
|---|---|---|
以后 | yǐ hòu | afterwards |
将来 | jiāng lái | in the future |
下次 | xià cì | next time |
待会（儿） | dài huì (er) | after a while |
等会（儿） | děng huì (er) | after few moments |
……年后 | …nián hòu | … years later |
明年 | míng nián | next year |
……（个）月后 | …(gè) yuè hòu | …months later |
下个月 | xià gè yuè | next month |
……（个）周/星期后 | … (gè) zhōu / xīng qī hòu | … weeks later |
下个周/星期 | xià gè zhōu / xīng qī | next week |
……天后 | …tiān hòu | …days later |
明天 | míng tiān | tomorrow |
后天 | hòu tiān | the day after tomorrow |
明晚 | míng wǎn | tomorrow night |
Example Sentences
Chinese Characters | 下次请早点来。 |
Chinese Pinyin | xià cì qǐng zǎo diǎn lái |
Meanings | Please come earlier next time. |
Chinese Characters | 将来我想给爸妈买个大房子。 |
Chinese Pinyin | jiāng lái wǒ xiǎng gěi bà mā mǎi gè dà fáng zi |
Meanings | I want to buy a big house for my parents in the future. |
Chinese Characters | 我以后想做一名老师。 |
Chinese Pinyin | wǒ yǐ hòu xiǎng zuò yī míng lǎo shī |
Meanings | I want to be a teacher in the future. |
Chinese Characters | 我妈妈下个月要来看我。 |
Chinese Pinyin | wǒ mā mā xià gè yuè yào lái kàn wǒ |
Meanings | My mom will come to see me next month. |
Aspect Particle for Future Tense
要 (yào), 会(huì) and 将 (jiāng) all indicate an action has not yet happened.
The three auxiliary verbs can be used for talking about the future in the sense of “going to do something” or “intending to do something”. For most of the cases, the differences between these three words are not so distinct, they can substitute each other.
Chinese Characters | Chinese Pinyin | Meanings | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|
要 | yào | will / be going to | want/plan/intend |
会 | huì | will / be going to | confident prediction something has a high possibility to happen |
将 | jiāng | will / be going to | about to happen |
And both 不 (bù) and 没 (有) (méi yǒu) are always put before the verb or adjective to express negation.
Example Sentences
Chinese Characters | 我要走啦! |
Chinese Pinyin | wǒ yào zǒu la |
Meanings | I am going to leave! |
Chinese Characters | 我明天是不会去的。 |
Chinese Pinyin | wǒ míng tiān shì bù huì qù de |
Meanings | I won’t go tomorrow. |
Chinese Characters | 研讨会将于下周五举行。 |
Chinese Pinyin | yán tǎo huì jiāng yú xià zhōu wǔ jǔ xíng |
Meanings | The seminar will hold on next Friday. |
Chinese Characters | 你以后不要再迟到了。 |
Chinese Pinyin | nǐ yǐ hòu bù yào zài chí dào le |
Meanings | Please don’t be late again in the future. |
Chinese Characters | 未来，人类会灭绝吗? |
Chinese Pinyin | wèi lái, rén lèi huì miè jué ma |
Meanings | Will human beings die out in the future? |
A Few Extras
“了”often appear in sentences about the past, but it can also appear with present or future actions. It’s not always a tense marker. This is quite hard to grasp, but try not to overthink it in the early stages.
Another one you should take note is that “会” “要” “将” these three auxiliary verbs do not always indicate future tense. As always, it depends on the context. One good example is “会” which may also be used as a modal verb “can”.
Keep Practicing…
The best way to learn a language is to keep practicing. You can try to practice these sentences above. Listen to and read as much Chinese as you can (that is nearly always the best thing you can do for your Chinese) and try to speak them out!
The more you speak, the more opportunity you’ll get to practice them and the more perfect your Chinese will be! If you know any native Chinese-speakers, try and practice what you’ve learned with them.
Good luck and have fun!
